Day Three Of The G.P.N.W.D., And A Momentous Brush With Fame

September 19, 2021

Newport, Washington

Before I could get started today I had some serious clean-up to do on my bike. Sand, pine needles and bugs were stuck to the wheels and frame, and the drive train had some serious rust developing. I definitely should have wiped my bike down yesterday after riding in the rain.

Cleaned and lubed, The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong was ready for another day of work in the Great Pacific Northwest Deluge. On this day, however, he was returning to the highways where he could get back to doing the job Surly Bikes made him to do. Also, I can get back to proving that a threat of rain isn't going to stop me. (Sometimes I even LIKE rain.)

Despite the constant rain predicted by the TV weather forecasters, it was not raining when I hit the road today. It didn't rain at all for the first ten miles. Eventually, it started sprinkling and within minutes it was pouring. I stopped to put on all my rain gear, including the red rain jackets that go over my panniers.

For the next half-hour or so I rode through the heaviest rain I've seen in the entire three-day "deluge," which honestly wasn't that heavy. Still, it was heavy enough that I didn't take any pictures.

When the rain finally let up, I stopped at a pretty nice spot along the Pend Oreille River for a photo. That's where I met a guy who was pushing a cart that looked a lot like the Burley trailer I carry my dog in while riding around my town.

This is the "pretty nice spot," but the picture seems quite insignificant after talking to that guy I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Quite a few years ago, I got within a few feet of my all-time favorite baseball player, Harmon Killebrew, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Harmon was talking on a phone and paid no attention to me. Even so, prior to today that was my greatest brush with fame.

Today's celebrity actually made a point of asking about my trip. Of course, I was only too happy to tell him about how this was my second last day of a two week bike tour. Usually that's enough to impress most people. (If not, I bring up my west-to-east and south-to-north cross-country tours.) After patiently listening to my bragging, he told me about his own little adventure. Somehow, my two week bike trip paled in comparison.

Tom has been WALKING FOR SIX YEARS, while visiting all seven continents. Somewhere along the way he adopted a dog named Savannah and they've been companions ever since. For the rest of the story, please visit Home - The World Walk | Tom Turcich.

He expects to be back home in New Jersey in about seven months. He seems to have a pretty good grasp on how he's going to deal with it. I get emotional about a return after a few weeks of bike touring. I cannot even imagine the emotions he's going to experience after SIX YEARS of walking.

I don't remember taking a second picture of the duo, but there it is.

I was kind of awestruck with that encounter. I can't remember everything I said, but I do remember telling him that I was truly honored to have met him on my tour. I think I remember him saying something like "that looks like a blast," in reference to touring on a bike.

The luckiest thing about our meeting was that I just happened to be stopped to take that picture of the river. Had I been pedaling, I'd have just seen a guy with a dog and a cart. I would have said "hi" and ridden right on by.

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It was time to move on. I continued to ride in full rain gear even though it wasn't raining. It felt OK though because it was only 52 degrees and the wind was blowing straight at me. Since there was no rain, I was okay with taking some more pictures with my phone.

There is a little bike at the bottom of that cliff.

There is a little bike on the opposite side of that cliff.

I liked that video except for one thing: It was the Pend Oreille River, not the Priest River. I'm very ashamed. Maybe I was still a little discombobulated from my celebrity meet up.

I believed I saw a hint of sunshine on that hillside.

The brown cows down there are doing a great job of social distancing.

I apologize for my previous mis-identification, but what you are seeing now is the Priest River for sure.

Here, I crossed from the land of no masks to the land of government mandated masks.

The elegant, yet simple, Newport city hall.

Even though I was sure the Great Pacific Northwest Deluge had come to an end, I checked into a Newport motel. From there, I rode back to a grocery store to pick up some stuff for dinner. When I came back out I saw a sky that looked like I might have been wrong about the end of the rains.

I raced back to the motel. Within minutes of my arrival, I heard thunder. Then I saw lightning. There was a little rain, but typical of the western states, it didn't amount to much. A little later, the sun peaked through the clouds and the storm seemed to have moved on.

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Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 442 miles (711 km)

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Emily SharpLooks like a beautiful day on the road. I like the moody days like that, and don't mind the rain, if I know I can get warm that night. It is also very nice to meet other solo travelers not on an established route, particularly someone with such an amazing journey/story to tell. You are right that it would be tough to deal with the emotions of finishing a journey of that length. I hope the final days of your tour are fantastic.

I did have a good laugh at the "Drive up and go" signs. Oz definitely has a catchier term for it: "click and collect".
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